Alien invasion

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, July 25, 2001 | 11:11 a.m.

The 10 top-selling minor league baseball caps through June, according to Star Struck, the leading retailer for minor league merchandise:

1. Las Vegas 51s

2. Lake Elsinore Storm

3. Kannapolis Intimidators

4. Ottawa Lynx

5. Lakewood BlueClaws

6. Lansing Lugnuts

7. Brooklyn Cyclones

8. Batavia Muckdogs

9. Shreveport Swamp Dragons

10. Quad City River Bandits

For those who laughed at the new nickname, logo and mascot unveiled by Las Vegas' triple-A baseball team, the franchise is laughing just as hard -- all the way to the bank.

After being affiliated with the San Diego Padres for the last 18 years and being called the Stars, the team became the Los Angeles Dodgers' top farm club before this season and changed its name to the 51s.

Even though many grumbled that management should have opted for "Las Vegas Dodgers" or some other more traditional nickname, sales in the merchandise shop at Cashman Field have improved 65 percent, according to team officials.

Through June, 51s caps also are the top sellers in the Star Struck catalog, the leading source of minor league baseball merchandise, and eighth among sales for New Era, the official producer of caps for major and minor league baseball.

"I think this validates the change," 51s president and general manager Don Logan said. "The bottom line is we really wanted to remake ourselves and that was a part of the whole deal.

"This is a positive sign."

Before the season, 51s officials also changed the team's colors from purple, teal and black to Dodger blue, gray and white. It named the team the 51s, after the fabled "Area" in the desert outside of Las Vegas where little green men are rumored to reside.

The top-selling hat for Star Struck, New Era and in the 51s store is Dodger blue with a white alien head/baseball in the middle.

Last year, Stars caps with a more traditional "LV" logo ranked only No. 120 in sales for Star Struck and No. 125 for New Era.

51s souvenirs have become so popular outside of Las Vegas that Laurie Wanser, director of merchandise for the 51s, has had to ship items out to numerous states, including Michigan, Kentucky, New Jersey and Louisiana.

"We've got new fans coming in through the door that we haven't had before," Wanser said. "People who wouldn't have spent the money on Stars merchandise.

"We have people from out of town come to the games so that they can come to the store and buy the merchandise. I've got hotel concierges calling to get stuff for their guests."

Some of the more interesting items in the store are silver-colored alien earrings, glow in the dark alien key chains, socks for adults and children with the 51s logo and a unisex blue visor with the alien head in the center.

For at least the last two years, the top selling hats for Star Struck were those of the Lake Elsinore Storm, operated by the same company that owns the 51s, Mandalay Sports Entertainment.

At the baseball extravaganza held at the Seattle Exhibition Center across the street from Safeco Field in conjunction with the major league All-Star game, Star Struck flew out six minor league team mascots, including the 51s' Cosmo, to entertain fans.

"We had about 250 different style caps for sale and all 160 teams were represented," said Star Struck director of operations Jason Scheets. "I would say if the 51s weren't No. 1 then they were the top two or three.

"Minor league baseball sales are logo driven. People can't tell you who is in first place and who is in last place, but they can tell you who has the coolest logo. So many little kids and collectors out there, they just love the 51s logos."

This week, the main store at Dodger Stadium received its first shipment of 51s caps and plush Cosmo toys.

Mike Nygren, the Dodgers' merchandise director, said he has been bombarded by requests for the hats and predicts they will sell much better than the Albuquerque Dukes hats that the store carried when the Dodgers' triple-A team was located in New Mexico.

"The logo is unique," Nygren said. "I think that the logo is great, it's fun. We've never had a reaction like we've gotten for the 51s merchandise. It's huge. We've already seen people wearing the cap coming to games."